“I used to live downtown, and I was the only guy. But now, it’s all thriving down there. . . . My compliments.'' -- photographer Rowland Scherman

BIRMINGHAM, Alabama -- Birmingham in general and the Sidewalk Moving Picture Festival in particular have made quite an impression on some of the filmmakers here for this weekend’s 15th annual edition of the independent film festival, which concludes today at several venues downtown.

Joe York, a Gadsden native who now makes films for the Southern Foodways Alliance at the University of Mississippi, came to the festival to screen his "Pride & Joy," a collection of short films about the colorful characters who preserve the food customs of the South.

DETAILS

What: Sidewalk Moving Picture Festival

Where: Alabama Theatre and other downtown venues

When: Three-day festival concludes today, with films beginning at 10:30 a.m. and the last one starting at 9:30 p.m.

Tickets: $30for a day pass; $10 and $15 for individual movies

Not only was it York’s first time to attend the Sidewalk festival, but it was also the first time he had ever set foot in the Alabama Theatre, where “Pride & Joy” screened Saturday afternoon.

“The Alabama Theatre has to easily be the most beautiful theater I’ve ever seen,” York said after the screening. “I lived an hour away from here, and I’ve never been in this room. Any filmmaker in their right mind would want to have their film screened in this room. It’s unbelievable.

“You’ve got good crowds,” York went on. “You’ve got great festival organizers. And you’ve got probably the best venue of any festival in the world. Why would you not want to come here? Really, it’s that impressive.”

For photographer Rowland Scherman, the subject of director Chris Szwedo’s documentary, "Eye on the Sixties," the Sidewalk festival was a brief homecoming.

Scherman, who many here remember as the proprietor of the original Joe bar in Five Points South, lived here for about 20 years but moved to Cape Cod several years ago.

A nearly full house came out late Saturday morning to see the Scherman documentary at the Dorothy Jemison Day Theatre at the Alabama School of Fine Arts.

Afterward, Scherman asked for a show of hands from people who had ever visited his bar. More than half of those in the crowd raised their hands.

“OK, this is the last time I’m going to say this,” Scherman joked. “I’m really sorry I was so mean to y’all.”

Szwedo’s film captures some of the iconic people and events Scherman photographed in the 1960s – from the March on Washington and Woodstock to Bobby Kennedy, Bob Dylan and the Beatles.

After Sidewalk, they will screen “Eye on the Sixties” at an event commemorating the 50th anniversary of the March on Washington this afternoon at the Newseum in Washington, D.C., Szwedo said.

While here in Birmingham, Scherman took Szwedo to visit the Sixteen Street Baptist Church, site of the 1963 bombing that killed four black schoolgirls.

Szwedo said Georgia congressman John Lewis, who saw “Eye on the Sixties” at a screening last week at the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library, urged him to visit the church while he was here.

“It’s the first time I’ve been in Birmingham, Ala.,’’ Szwedo said. “I was a little kid, I was 7 years old, when you guys were in the news for other reasons. . . .

“John Lewis said, ‘When you go to Birmingham, go to the church,’’’ he added. “So we did yesterday. I’m glad we did.”

Scherman talked about how much Birmingham has progressed since he moved away.

“Now I see it’s cleaner and better and finer,” he said. “I used to live downtown, and I was the only guy. But now, it’s all thriving down there. Pepper Place is great. You’ve got a ball field in the middle of town. It’s great. My compliments.

“I’m sorry I left in a way, but the film and all this other stuff wouldn’t have happened if I hadn’t gone to the Cape,’’ he added. “But congratulations to you for making the town better than it was.”

A long line of filmgoers waited to get inside the Alabama Theatre for the screening of "Muscle Shoals" Saturday night. (Bob Carlton/bcarlton@al.com)

The Sidewalk festival opened Friday night at the Alabama Theatre with a screening of “Lil Bub & Friendz,” a film about the cat who became an Internet sensation, and continued Saturday night with, among other films, “Muscle Shoals,” filmmaker Greg "Freddy" Camalier's rocking documentary about the Muscle Shoals music scene.

Both of those films were huge draws.

“Last night’s attendance was on par with the past couple of years for opening night,” Chloe Collins, the festival's executive director, said Saturday afternoon. “I can tell you that our (Saturday) morning screenings were really packed, which is usually a good sign.”

On Saturday evening, the Alabama Theatre was packed for the “Muscle Shoals” screening, with a long line of filmgoers stretched down Third Avenue North and around the corner to 19th Street waiting to get in.